A new demonstration and education research project hopes to "Stop Asthma" by changing how children, their families and health care providers manage the disease.

Stop Asthma, a $1.8 million, five-year study funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is aimed primarily at inner city children ages 5 to 14.

Asthma hospitalization and death rates have increased substantially during the last two decades, primarily among inner city youths, where asthma rates are higher. For children ages 5 to 14, asthma deaths nearly doubled from 1980 to 1993.

Stop Asthma uses a specialized multimedia interactive computer program, The Asthma Partnership System, to teach children about asthma and how to develop skills in managing the disorder.

Also, electronic medical record charting for asthma, piloted at the Children's Asthma Center at Texas Children's Hospital, will be linked to the Asthma Partnership System. This will form a computer expert system to cue physicians for state-of-the-art asthma management interventions.

- From Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital

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Courtesy of Texas Medical Center News

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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URL: http://www.tmc.edu/health_briefs/02_01_98-asthma.html